2018 school leavers: England’s history of the school leaving age

Apr 19, 2018 | Blog

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Are you leaving school this year?

There are usually two types of school leavers:

  1. “I can’t wait to leave school!”
  2. “Why do we have to leave school?”

Whether you love it or hate it (or just think that you do) there comes a time when everyone has to leave their school.  What’s interesting, is how this time has changed over the years in England to make our school leaving age what it is today.

The infographic below illustrates how the school leaving age has changed, since the first compulsory school leaving age up to today.

School leaving age infographic:

Timeline graphic England school history

Your choices when leaving school in 2018

Today, students must continue education or training until the age of 18.  However, students have a choice of whether to stay in full-time education or to choose a more vocational route, such as an apprenticeship.

If you’re a student due to leave school this year and are considering what to do next – be it university, training, going into employment or several other options, our guide on options for college leavers in 2018 may help.

Infographic text:

  • 1880 – The Elementary Education Act made it compulsory for children to attend school between the ages of 5 and 10.
  • 1893 – The act became the ‘Elementary Education (School Attendance) Act 1893 and brought with it an increase in school leaving age to 11.
  • 1899 – The compulsory school leaving age was raised to 12.
  • 1918 – The mandatory age for children to be in full-time education was raised to14.
  • 1944 – The compulsory school leaving age was raised again, to 15.
  • 1972 – 1972’s Education Act raised the school leaving age to 16.  This was also the year that the Education (Work Experience) Act was created, allowing students to use their final year for work experience.
  • 2013 – The school leaving age was raised to 17 in 2013.
  • 2015 – Most recently, the compulsory school leaving age was raised to 18 in 2015.
  • Today – students have to stay in education until age 18, but this is not limited to staying at school.  After the age of 16, students can choose different education paths such as to go to college or to start a workplace apprenticeship.

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